Feeding
by NeonHorizon
Summary: A sweet ghoul who likes to cook makes the acquaintance of a particularly intriguing half-ghoul. Can she help him with his cravings while keeping herself safe and sane? Written just for fun. Does not follow any particular timeline.
1. Chapter 1

NeonHorizon: I decided to write two Tokyo Ghoul fanfics. This is the light-hearted one featuring OC Kuroda Ume (age 19). Enjoy.

* * *

Her stomach growled, but it was no big deal. It never really was. She was used to feeling hungry. Her parents always said she was a reluctant eater. Ume packed up her supplies, casting a final glance at the board at the front of the classroom. The assignment had been written down, a reminder set on her phone to make sure it was completed by the next class.

A farewell wave was directed at the two classmates she was closest with. Tanaka and Morinaga waved back, knowing she was in a rush. Ume left the classroom with a certain spring in her step as she looked forward to work. Going to work meant being around her own kind. In addition to this was the promise of food.

It was fine for her to be around humans. They made her anxious, particularly boys, but she found them interesting. Ume liked to watch them and study their habits. What they ate, what they drank, what they did on a regular basis. All of these things were intriguing because they differed from a ghoul's tendencies, yet had a basic similarity.

"Glad to be back, Kuroda-chan?"

The voice startled her as she was finishing changing into her uniform at the café. Ume glanced over her shoulder and color rushed to her cheeks. "Ah. Y-yeah. I've been looking forward to coming back to work for a while."

Irimi smiled faintly and helped her tie her coppery shoulder-length hair back in a ponytail. "There we go. So classes have gotten better?"

"Yeah. Um…well a counselor recommended some classes to switch to. I really don't think that the program I was in would've worked out." It was embarrassing. Ume had been working at Anteiku since she was fourteen. When she began classes at Kamii University, she quickly became overwhelmed. The breakdown she had in the back room was a mess to say the least.

The two female ghouls started back to the front of the café, the older one leading. "So which program did you decide to switch to?"

"Ah…literature."

"Hey! Ume, come here! You have to meet someone," Touka called from near a table. She greeted Ume with a half-grin.

Her pale green eyes widened and blood quickly heated her cheeks. _A boy? Why is there a boy here…wearing the waiter's uniform? Does he work here? When did Yoshimura-san hire a boy my age though? I thought there was just Koma-san._ She cautiously approached the table, her heart beating fast. There were two things that Ume simply could not handle; hunting for prey and facing men. While he seemed to not carry a male scent, his outward appearance made her incredibly wary. "H-hello."

The boy had short dark hair and one dark, visible eye. His left eye was hidden beneath a white medical patch, bringing a curious frown to the girl's face. "Hello," he greeted her.

"Ume, this is Kaneki. Kaneki, this is Kuroda Ume," Touka introduced them. "Kaneki just started working here a little while ago. Ume used to work here, but she had to stop because…"

"Ah. My classes got in the way," Ume supplied. She bowed, a few coppery locks of hair springing free from her ponytail and hanging to either side of her face. "I-it's nice to meet you, Kaneki-san."

"N-nice to meet you, Kuroda-san." He bowed as well, looking a bit nervous.

As she straightened, she let her eyes linger for a moment. _He's…pretty thin. Like he doesn't eat. He doesn't look very old either. Is he like me? Did he come from a different ward because it's safer here?_ She nervously smoothed her apron and shifted her gaze away.

Throughout most of her shift, she found her attention being drawn back to him. The boy seemed a little anxious and was still learning how things were done, but his anxiety seemed to stem from something else. She stood behind the counter, watching him serve cups of coffee to a table of customers, and frowned to herself. Ume found herself staring at him, trying to pinpoint what exactly Kaneki was. He looked like a boy, but smelled like a female ghoul. He wore an eyepatch. He appeared nervous when dealing with ghouls. The scent that he gave off was not entirely like a ghoul's scent. _So what is Kaneki?_

Touka, seeing where Ume stared, came to stand beside her. "What? Is he your type?" she teased.

Ume blushed pink and shook her head vehemently. "I-I'm not…ch-checking him out or anything! You know how I am around b-boys! I just…can't tell what Kaneki is."

The other girl raised both eyebrows. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Lowering her voice, she reluctantly voiced her inquiries. "I-I mean is Kaneki a boy? Is Kaneki actually a girl? But Kaneki looks like a boy. And smells like a ghoul, but a girl ghoul! And also has another smell that isn't a ghoul smell! What _is_ Kaneki?"

"Pfft! Seriously? _That's_ what you were getting so worked up about? You could just ask him."

"I-I can't just ask him!" she protested.

"Hey, Kaneki! Ume has a question!"

"Wh-what?" He nearly spilled coffee all over the customers at the table and profusely apologized. "Um…I'll be right there."

"Wait! Touka, why did you-?!" Ume turned to snap at her friend, but the girl was already walking away. _Why did she have to do that?! I can't talk to boys! She knows I can't talk to boys! I can't even talk to Koma-san or Yoshimura-san!_ The girl bowed her head as Kaneki approached, trying to hide her blush.

She frowned and anxiously fidgeted with the red butterfly ring on her right index finger. Her mind raced with any number of questions she could ask him that were not related to his actual gender and whether or not he was a ghoul. When he was standing on the other side of the counter with a questioning look on his face, she could feel her blush intensify. "Um…I just…I was wondering…wh-what you are."

His eyes widened marginally. "Wh-what?"

"I'm sorry! That probably sounded rude and-!"

"N-no, I just…don't actually know how to answer that right now."

"She wants to know if you're a boy or a girl," Touka interrupted.

Instantly, the boy's face turned pink. "Wait… _what_?"

"Y-you smell like…a _girl_ ghoul…so…" Ume made certain to mutter this under her breath. Even if every customer in Anteiku at that moment was a ghoul, it was better not to risk it.

From the look on his face, no one had ever asked Kaneki his gender before. It was not a look of offense, but rather a look of shock. "I-I'm a boy."

 **Shift P.O.V**

He saw her face turning red as she mumbled something, but he did not catch what she said this time. _Do I really smell that much like a female ghoul?_ The thought had not really occurred to him before; most people he encountered could immediately decide that he was male due to his appearance. As he started to wonder about her eyesight, he caught a delicious scent waft from the pocket of her apron. A scent so amazing that his mouth started to water a little.

The redhead was drawing something from her pocket that he could pinpoint as the source. It was small and had the appearance of a peach-flavored gummy bear. Though the scent was that of meat. She nervously chewed on it and kept her green eyes averted as she did so. "Sorry…that was a weird thing to ask, wasn't it?"

"No, I'm just…not used to it," he admitted. Since his accident, he had met a number of ghouls and gradually learned that they varied in appearance as greatly as humans did. This one was strange though. He had yet to meet one that was as nervous as he was. "What is that?"

She froze as she was pulling forth another and her expression became a sheepish sort of smile. "Do you…want one?"

"Better take one, Kaneki. Plenty of guys would kill to taste Ume's cooking."

 _Cooking?_ He accepted one from her and used all of his willpower to not devour it right away. Holding it up in the light, he inspected the piece of food. It was squishy like a gummy bear and even had the exact shape of one. Of course, he knew this was most certainly not a gummy bear. _Is it something that I can eat? It doesn't really have the smell that a corpse has._ He put it into his mouth and hesitantly chewed.

The taste was like nothing he had experienced before. Closing his eyes, he savored the meaty flavor of the 'candy' and tried to determine exactly what it reminded him of. When it was gone, he felt a little sad. While it had tasted very good, it had also increased his appetite. "Kuroda-san, you made this?"

She nodded, looking a little embarrassed. "I-I like to experiment with making my food…look like human food. S-so I can eat with friends at the university."

"She's a great cook, right?" Touka asked, smirking.

Kaneki saw Ume blush and glance his way. _Does she make other stuff besides these candies?_ He was hesitant to ask. In his experience, most ghouls did not like to share their food. The fact that this girl was giving him at least one little piece made him both amazed and grateful. He decided to change the subject. If she offered him more, that would be her choice. "So you're in college?"

"Y-yeah. I just changed to the…l-literature program…at Kamii University."

"R-really?! I go there, too!"

"Kuroda-chan, can you grab a few more bags of coffee beans from the back?" Irimi asked, putting the conversation to a halt.

"Ah! Y-yes, I'm on it!" Ume turned to Kaneki with a small bow. "Sorry…um…I-I'll be back soon so we can continue this."

He watched her go into the back room, feeling Touka's eyes on him and knowing she wore a look of amusement. _She's kind of cute_ , he thought as he turned away from the back room. His stomach growled as he remembered the taste of the 'candy' she had given him.

"You think she's cute, right? She's pretty popular with the male customers."

"I-I guess she's…kind of cute," he replied, rubbing the back of his neck. When he saw the copper-haired girl reemerge from the back room, she was effortlessly carrying several heavy bags of coffee beans. Their eyes met for a moment and both blushed faintly. "She seems nice," the boy muttered. "She seems really nice."


	2. Chapter 2

_That's him, isn't it?_ Ume was sitting at a table in the cafeteria with her friends, indulging in a coffee while they ate. It had only been two days since she met him, but she could instantly recognize the boy by his scent and his appearance. _Kaneki-kun._ _And that must be his friend, right?_

He was walking alongside a boy with rather fluffy, light hair. His friend was talking excitedly about something, but the dark-haired boy seemed a bit down. When her friends saw her looking, they exchanged a curious glance.

"Hey, you know that guy?" Morinaga asked.

"I've seen him around before. Wait…wasn't he-?" Tanaka started.

"In that accident a while back! Yeah, I remember hearing about that!" The boy raised both eyebrows in surprise. "Kuroda, where do you know that guy from?"

"W-we both work at a café in town," she replied. _I wonder if he's still hungry. I did make something special. I was going to take it to Anteiku and leave it with Touka, but if I can get it to him now…_ Ume stood and grabbed her bag. "S-sorry…I have to ask him something s-so…"

Morinaga gave her a dismissive wave. "Go. We'll see you later."

She moved quickly, her loose copper curls bouncing with each step as she tried to catch up with the two boys. _What am I going to say though? I can't just say 'here's some food I made just for you because I like that you like my cooking'!_ She could feel a faint heat to her cheeks and knew she was blushing. Shaking her head, Ume finally came close. "K-Kaneki-kun, wait!"

He turned swiftly, startled. "K-Kuroda-chan?"

"Huh? Who's this?" His friend looked from Kaneki to Ume and grinned. "Hey, come on! Introduce me! How do you guys know each other?"

Kaneki rubbed the back of his neck, blushing faintly. "We work together. Um…Hide, this is Kuroda-chan. Kuroda-chan, this is my friend Hide." His nose twitched, indicating that he had caught the scent of her gift.

Hide stuck out a hand expectantly, positively beaming. "Any friend of Kaneki's is a friend of mine. Nice to meet you, Kuroda-chan. What's your first name?"

She hesitantly shook his hand. His skin was warm against hers and gave off a strong human scent. "I-it's Ume. Kuroda Ume. N-nice to…meet you."

"S-so what did you want to tell me, Kuroda-chan?"

"I-I'm sorry. It can wait. I-I don't want to take time away from-"

"It's…it's fine! Don't worry about it, Kuroda-chan." Kaneki smiled reassuringly. It was clear that he had a feeling about why she had approached him.

Her green gaze dropped to her bag and she frowned a little. "Um…I-I made something for you…I-I don't know if you'll like it, but…" She dug around in the bag and quickly produced a neatly wrapped bento box. Holding it out with shaking hands, she bowed her head. "This is…um…w-well I…made it with you in mind and…"

"Wow! Kaneki, that's great! She made you a lunch!" Hide grinned encouragingly at the boy's side. "Go on! I've heard your stomach growling all day!"

Kaneki's hands shook as well when he accepted the box from her. When their fingers brushed against each other, color rushed to his face. "Th-thank you, Kuroda-chan."

"I-I hope it…tastes okay…" she mumbled, fidgeting with her bag's strap. "I…I'm going to the café now s-so…I'll see you later!" Ume hurried off before he could say anything, jogging toward the street.

 **Shift P.O.V**

"You're so lucky! I didn't know that someone like that worked with you!"

Kaneki could smell it through the container. There was food inside that he could consume. Something that smelled absolutely delicious. _She gave this to me. She said that she made it with me in mind, too._ He could feel himself blushing again and shook his head. "Kuroda-chan was gone for a while, but I guess she started working there again the other day."

"She seems pretty nice. She even made you a lunch! That's pretty cute!"

"Yeah…" He lifted his eyes to Ume's retreating form. He had not seen her out of the waitress uniform and was surprised by how cutely she apparently dressed at school. Her lavender sweater hung loosely on her, the grey skirt flaring a little as she ran. The girl's coppery locks were hanging freely around her shoulders, bouncing with each step. "She's…really nice."

The boy knew that he could not eat the food in front of Hide. Whether or not it looked like normal food, he had a feeling that his friend would ask questions and possibly even want to try some. The thought of his friend accidentally eating human flesh was not a pleasant one. _I'll have to wait until my break at work_ , he decided.

When they split up and he made his way to Anteiku, he changed clothes quickly. With the little bit of spare time, he popped the lid off of the bento box. Inside was something very peculiar. It was thinly sliced pieces of meat with a sort of dark sauce drizzled over them. The sauce gave off a coffee aroma and it made his mouth water.

"Oh, she made you a bento?"

Hearing Touka's voice so close made him jump a little. "Wh-what? Um…"

"Wow. Coffee sauce, right? You're pretty lucky. Gummy bears and now a bento. A lot of guys would _kill_ to get stuff like that from Ume."

"S-sorry."

"What are you apologizing about? Anyway, you'd better eat that first. If you leave it in your locker, it's going to get stolen. I guarantee it."

Kaneki waited for her to walk away, for him to be totally alone, before hesitantly lifting a slice of meat with the chopsticks tucked into the box. He sniffed at it, but knew already that it was something he could eat. It carried no corpse scent. It smelled like a premium cut of meat, cooked to perfection. There was a slight char that gave it a crispy edge, mingling well with the sauce. Chewing it, he felt immensely satisfied. _I can eat this. It's something I can actually eat! And she made it for me?_

 **Shift P.O.V**

"I heard that you made something special for Kaneki," Irimi commented.

Ume jolted, nearly dropping the coffee cup she had been returning. "Y-yes…um…w-well I know he can't eat it raw so…"

"You're always so considerate, Kuroda-chan."

 _But I did it for my own selfish reasons_ , she thought. Ume kept her head bowed as she started pouring some cups of coffee for customers. _I did it to help Kaneki, but I also did it because I wanted to get closer to him. He's so different from most other ghouls._ She watched him emerge from the back and blushed brightly when their eyes met.

He smiled, displaying an expression of gratitude as well as satisfaction. "Th-thank you for the food, Kuroda-chan. It was delicious."

"Y-you really…liked it? Really?" Ume saw Irimi smiling from the corner of her eye and bowed her head again, trying to hide her blush from the woman. Seeing the boy look so happy, and knowing that she had contributed to it, made her heart skip a beat. _He's…so cute when he smiles._

"You know…it's hard for me to find things I can eat, but that bento was perfect. Thank you for making it for me."

"It's…no trouble at all! I love cooking for people so…so…um…if you want to…I-I could make another sometime and…" She realized that she might be rambling and frowned. "S-sorry…I get kind of excited sometimes…about cooking…"

"I think it's cute," Irimi chimed in. "You two seem like you get along really well. Why don't you eat together next time?"

"E-eat together?" Ume was both nervous and excited by this idea. Sharing a meal was uncommon with ghouls, but not completely unheard of with couples. She was already beginning to think of what she could make and how to arrange it so that he could eat it without difficulty. _But if we eat together, is it a date?_ Ume started thinking about the dates she had seen on television shows and frowned, realizing that they would need to find a good place to eat their meal. She could serve it at her apartment, but her home would need to be tidied up first. Regardless of where they ate, she would need to buy something nice to wear. Before any planning, she would need to first ask him. "K-Kaneki-kun! Do you…want…dinner…date?!" she blurted out.

Kaneki stared at her, a little alarmed by the outburst. He had assumed the conversation was over and went to deliver coffee to a ghoul customer. Turning quickly to look at Ume, he nearly dropped the coffee cup. "Kuroda-chan?"

Realizing that she had managed to draw the attention of every person in the café, her face turned bright red. "Kaneki-kun…date…dinner…do you want?" she attempted again, failing miserably at forming a sentence.

"A-alright."

"Alright?!"

"Yeah…um…w-we can talk about it after work…okay?" He was blushing as well, realizing that their potential date plans were being listened to intently by all of the customers.

Ume was unable to hide her smile and look of relief. "A-alright. We'll…talk after work," she agreed.

Irimi patted her on the back, wearing a look of amusement. "That was kind of unorthodox, but definitely a memorable way to ask someone out. I'm proud of you, Kuroda-chan."

 _I just asked him out in front of the entire café! What am I going to do? What are we going to do? What am I going to wear? What am I going to cook? Ingredients! I'll have to make a list and if I ask really nicely, will Yoshimura-san give me what I need for the perfect meal?!_ Her heart was racing as she thought about the date that she was going to plan. Throughout the next few hours, she would continuously look at the clock and wait for both of their shifts to end.

Touka came up to her around the end of the day, raising an eyebrow. "I heard that you asked Kaneki out."

"I-it's just dinner!" Ume quickly protested.

"I heard that you used the word 'date'," Touka corrected her with a laugh. "Don't worry about it. You always get so nervous around boys. What's the worst that can happen though? And besides; it's Kaneki."

Her green eyes lifted to Touka's gaze, bearing tears of worry. "T-Touka…I think I might really like him…I don't want to mess this up!" she whispered. "He…ate the bento that I made for him! And he liked it! He really liked it, Touka!"


	3. Chapter 3

A couple of weeks had passed since Ume had her outburst at work in which she asked Kaneki out on a date. They had settled on a day and finally that day had come. It was a Sunday morning and she stood in her kitchen, looking over everything one more time. A lot of preparation had gone into the meal she made. A lot of pleading had been done to receive the ingredients that she needed.

Every dish was neatly contained and settled into a bag. Her stomach growled at the mere scent of the food. _What am I going to wear though?!_ Ume let her hair down from its ponytail, shaking her coppery curls loose. She had spent an immense amount of time trying to determine the best menu and spent a comparatively smaller amount of time looking at fashion magazines.

 _Touka is pretty stylish. Could she help me put together an outfit? I could call Irimi-san, but I don't want to bother her. She's so mysterious._ Ume stared down at her cellphone screen intensely before scrolling through her contacts. "Um…I was…w-wondering if you could help me," she started.

"What? What do you need help with?" Touka asked.

"Y-you're not busy today, are you?"

"No, but what do you need help with? I'm with Hinami, but if it's an emergency-"

"Ah! I-it's not really an emergency, but…um…d-date outfit…"

Touka snickered. "Seriously? _That's_ what you're so worked up about? Okay, we'll be there soon. I'm bringing Hinami."

Ume said her farewell and turned her attention back to the kitchen. Digging through a cupboard, she found some 'gummy bears' that she knew Hinami would like. Her interaction with the child had been limited, but she was aware of what she had gone through. Ume ran her fingers through her hair to try to loosen her curls and walked quickly into the bedroom. She pulled all of her cutest clothes from the closet and tossed them onto her bed. _What am I going to wear?!_

When Touka arrived, she found the light-haired ghoul frantically digging around in her makeup bag. "Your date isn't until this afternoon, right?"

She jumped, nearly dropping her cosmetics. "I-I just…um…I want to make sure I look okay! Ah! H-Hinami-chan, it's good to see you!"

The young ghoul frowned, tilting her head. "Ume-chan, why do you look so worried? Do you think you're going to get rejected?"

The thought had been pushed to the back of Ume's mind, but now that it resurface, she winced. "N-no…maybe…I-I'm trying to make this a good date, but…I-I have no idea what I should wear!"

Hinami looked to the pile of clothes on the bed. "What about that pink and white dress? It's really cute!"

Ume followed to where she pointed and lifted the dress. "Th-this one? It's kind of small though…I've had it for a few years. Um…hm. Maybe with stockings, it would look good? B-but what if Kaneki-kun thinks I'm trying too hard?!"

Touka shook her head. "It doesn't really matter what you wear, you know. It's just that you're going on a date with him. He probably won't even notice what you're wearing."

Frowning, Ume turned to the mirror on the wall and held up the dress to see how it would look. _Is it too girly though? I wore this when I was still in high school and I've…grown a little. The chest might be too tight._ She glanced over at Hinami, who was still looking at the dress. "Hinami-chan, do you want this dress?"

The younger ghoul nodded and eagerly accepted it, beaming with delight. "Thank you, Ume-chan! It's so pretty!"

"Don't I get anything?" Touka joked.

 **Shift P.O.V**

He was nervous. Beyond nervous. Especially when he thought back to the last date that he went on. Kaneki shook his head and reminded himself that Ume was completely different from Rize. She was sweet, nervous, and bubbly. Touka and the others at Anteiku even vouched for her when he asked about the girl.

They had agreed to meet in a park that afternoon. He left his apartment early and decided to wait for her there, sitting on a park bench. _I'm really nervous though. She made lunch for us both. I didn't eat in front of her last time…what if I do something weird? But I'm really surprised that she wanted to eat together. Koma said that female ghouls don't like to be seen eating._ Kaneki fidgeted with his phone, texting Hide for some encouragement.

Just as he began to question whether or not he was dressed well enough for a date, he caught sight of her coming down the walkway. Color rushed to his face when he saw her. Ume was wearing a knee-length green dress with a white jacket, her ankle boots clicking on the pavement. Her coppery hair was pulled up in a ponytail and she was carrying a rather large bag with both hands.

"S-sorry if I made you wait!" she called ahead, approaching him. "Our lunch…I had to make sure that I had everything. I-I didn't know if you prefer chopsticks or forks so I brought both and…um…K-Kaneki-kun?"

He stifled a laugh and shook his head. "S-sorry."

"Wh-what? Do I look weird?" Ume's lips drew down into a frown as she neared the bench, worry clear in her expression.

"It's nothing. I'm just n-nervous." Kaneki rubbed the back of his neck as she sat beside him, her knee touching his. _Does she know about what happened with Rize? I never told her, but Touka might have. I don't really want to hide it from her, but I can't just bring it up while we're on this…date._ Just thinking the word made his face heat again with a blush. "S-so do you want to eat here on the bench?"

"Ah…there's a picnic table that I thought would be good. I-if you want to eat there. I just thought…b-because it's farther away from the street so…no one will bother us while we eat…"

"A-alright." Kaneki stood as she did and offered to carry the bag, but soon realized how incredibly heavy it was. _How is she able to carry it like it's nothing?_ He watched her lift it easily and conceded defeat. "Th-that dress really suits you."

"Th-thank you. I wasn't sure if it was too much or…and Touka said it didn't really matter, b-but I had to be sure that I didn't look frumpy, but…ah! You probably don't care about that kind of stuff though! Sorry!"

He saw her looking away as they walked and frowned. "No. I care. I mean, I care about what you're saying; it isn't boring or anything. I tried to dress different, but…"

She looked at his sweater and dark pants, still blushing vibrantly. "Y-you look really good though! I mean…you always look cute so-! No, I mean…um…"

Now they were both averting their eyes as they neared the table. Kaneki silently helped her set out all of the containers and sat watching her portion everything out. The smell of the food made his mouth water and he could hear his stomach growl. "Th-thank you for doing this."

"W-well I really like cooking for people. I know it's usually something that only humans do, but I just…love trying to find new ways to prepare meat and…" Again, she shook her head as if she was embarrassed. "Sorry to ramble."

He smiled reassuringly and was glad when she smiled back. "It's neat though. I didn't know that ghouls cooked so…it's really cool to see what you make. Like the bento. It looked so much like beef you would find in a restaurant that I sort of felt almost human when I ate it."

Her smile grew and she nodded. "R-right? That's why I do it! I want to be able to feel normal so if I can help other people feel normal when they eat, it's perfect!"

"So what did you make? This looks like a lot of trouble." Kaneki felt his heart skip a beat when her expression turned from nervous excitement to sheer delight. _She really likes cooking. I wonder how long she looked through cook books before deciding what to make. She seems like she studies a lot of recipes._

"Okay so…I made sliced cuts, seared and drizzled with a hardier coffee-based sauce. I also made a soup from bone, complete with a few chunks of meat that marinated for a couple of days before cooking. Ah! They were pan-seared also so they might have a little crunch! Let's see…I also made some 'gummy bears', my own all-meat variation of sushi, and some crisped skin. I-I hope it tastes alright."

Looking over the meal, his eyes widened a little. _She really put a lot of work into this. And it all looks amazing._ The two sat across from each other and he lifted his chopsticks to begin eating.

 **Shift P.O.V**

Ume glanced over at him and felt blood rush to her face. _He looks so happy._ She took a small, careful bite of food as she shyly watched him. It was extremely uncommon for her to eat around a boy. When she did cook for someone else, it was usually Touka or Hinami. _I'm eating. With a boy. I made a date lunch for me and a boy. I'm on a date!_ Her heart began to race and she bowed her head to focus on eating.

"This is really good, Ume-chan."

"Y-you really like it? Which part?"

"All of it. It's all delicious. It's been a long time since I've been able to eat this much. And it…doesn't even look like human meat," Kaneki told her. When he realized how excited he had become, he awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. "I-I really appreciate everything you've done for me, Ume-chan."

"It…it's no trouble! I mean…I…um…" Tears of panic formed in her bright green eyes as she met his gaze, her face a bright pink. "Kaneki-kun…I…r-really like you! So I wanted today to be perfect! I-I've never been on a date before! And I've never really…wanted to get close to a boy before so…um…"

He nearly dropped his chopsticks when he heard this, nervously looking at the girl seated across from him. "Ume-chan…I like you, too."

"Wh-what?! Really?" Her eyes widened, the tears trickling down her cheeks in relief. _He likes me? He really likes me back? How…is this possible? I can't believe this!_ She bowed her head, letting loose copper locks fall over her face to hide the intense blush taking over her face. "D-do you…do you want to…um…?"

"Do you want to…er…w-will you…?" Kaneki seemed to be just as taken aback as she was.

Finally, Ume had another outburst. "W-will you go out with me?!" she blurted out, red-faced.

"A-alright!"

The two shared a look of relief and each turned their gaze quickly back to their meal, laughing a little. Although it was clear that they were both happy.


End file.
